New Delhi, May 14: Rejoicing at the unexpected gift from the silent voters who stunned pollsters and politicians alike, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday thanked the nation for expressing overwhelming "confidence" in the Congress and hinted that she would be ready to accept prime ministerial responsibilities. Responding to a question on whether the leader of the largest coalition partner would be the Prime Minister, Ms Gandhi said: "Normally yehi hota hai." The statement was an indication that Ms Gandhi, who had withdrawn from the leadership race before the poll, was no longer coy about the issue. Describing the results as a "strong rejection of the BJP-led NDA", Ms Gandhi said the Congress would take the initiative to form a Government. On whether the Congress was willing to invite the Samajwadi Party to join the Government, she said: "We are open to working with all like-minded parties." Congress sources said that the Government formation exercise was expected to take at least another four days. On May 15, Ms Gandhi will formally be elected the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party, following which she will hold discussions with DMK president M Karunanidhi in New Delhi on the same day. Ms Gandhi will also hold talks with pre-poll allies as well as the SP and the BSP. Mr Pawar, who has repeatedly said that Ms Gandhi's foreign origin was still an issue with his party has so far evaded all questions on the matter of her leadership. But Ms Gandhi's leadership issue is still under doubt. The Left parties want a common minimum programme (CMP) and have also been pressing for a coordination committee to run the Government. Veteran CPI-M leader and former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu told a news channel that "there was a need to discuss the CMP and maybe also set up a coordination committee to oversee the work of the coalition Government". On whether the Left will accept Ms Gandhi as the Prime Minister, Mr Basu said: "She herself had said that after the polls, the alliance partners would sit and elect a leader. We will have to consult all parties, small and big. In 1996, we had done the same and elected Mr Deve Gowda without much difficulty." Clearly, the Left leaders have been singing different tunes during the past one week. The SP, too, has not revealed its option on the leadership issue. Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said: "Any decision to support the Congress-led alliance at the Centre and Sonia Gandhi as the next Prime Minister would be taken at the party's parliamentary board meeting tomorrow." However, as an indication of what may be in store, he slammed the Congress for its "diatribe" against his party and its criticism of the SP as an "agent of the BJP". "Since 1999, this was the biggest attack mounted by political parties on the SP. Parties attacked us while we were taking on the BJP," he lamented and said the Congress was at the forefront of the attack. The emergence of the Left as the next big group after the Congress is also likely to raise serious question marks about the fate of the reforms process and the foreign policy, especially since the Left parties have hinted they may join the Congress-led Government, instead of extending outside support like the DMK.
"We are open to join the Government and the decision will be taken at the CPI-M's central committee meeting on May 15," party general-secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet told The Pioneer. "As of now, all I can say is that the Left parties will discuss both issues of participation and support to the new formation in the next two days," he added.